Cumhurriyet Bayram Dinners  2006
 

2006 Bayram Luncheon New York

The Bayram luncheon was held at the Ali Baba Restaurant at 212 East 34^th Street in Manhattan.  The luncheon was scheduled from 1 PM to 3 PM but we went until about 4 PM as the following people attended and caught up:

Tom Bock who was stationed with the Air Force near Trabzon in the 1960s and speaks Russian and Turkish.  His wife teaches at the Dwight School in New York.  Tom has been back to Turkey, has many friends in the area, and attended his first Bayram luncheon with his wife.

Dan Callahan T-10 (1968-70) was in Tourism in Samsun and was there with his daughter, Deirdre, who was in the Peace Corps in Micronesia (1997-1999).  Dan has just started work at the Jewish Guild for the Blind in New York, having worked for New York State for a number of years.

Mike Green T-4 (1964-1966) was there with his wife Nihal and a friend.  They live in Manhattan. Mike taught at Middle East Technical University the first year, then at  Hacettepe in Ankara, and now teaches in the City University system. He met his wife, Nihal, while in Turkey, courted her at first in Turkish, and they married  in 1974 after Nihal  had earned a Masters at Hacettepe University which had converted into a Medical School.

Jim Hogan T-2 (1963-65) taught in Ceyhan his first year and then taught at Hacettepe in Ankara, and has been in Turkey and elsewhere numerous times.  He is married to Liz, who also attended Ali Baba.

David Hopkins T-10 (1968-70), having finished up at IBM, came from Connecticut with his wife, Janet.

Leo Hogan T-10 (1968-70) spent three years in community development and teaching near Adapazari and now lives in the Bronx and teaches adults in the Public Education system.

Hank Levy T-8 (1965-67) taught in Ulaf near Sivas and lives in Long Island. His wife Elaine was also there and is in real estate while Henry is the publisher of the Jewish Post, a newspaper that is based in Manhattan.

Bob McCord T-8 (1965-67) taught in a high school in Adapazari and now works with his wife, Kathy, who founded Vere, a sustainable , artesenal chocolate company (veregoods.com).  Both they and the chocolate are based in Manhattan.

Peter Nulty T-8 (1965-67), who recently moved to the Bronx, work for Wells Fargo from his home office there.

Steve Popick T-10 (1968-70) in a Community Development program in a village near Antalya in year one and then in Antalya, who lives in Brooklyn and was head of adult education in New York City, was at the luncheon with his son, Harry Popick who goes to Brooklyn Polytech.

Susan Keene Smith T-8 (1965-67), who taught English in Thrace, came in from New Jersey for the luncheon.

Kay Zakariasen T-8 (1965-67) and her husband, who teaches at Farleigh Dickinson , came in from Nyack, NY to partake in the luncheon. Kay was a teacher in the Eglli-Konya area of Turkey.

There was a total of 22 eager eaters and talkers there.  The total was around $38 and drinks of alcohol were extra.

The menu
$38 Fixed

Cold Appetizer
Salad
Hot Appetizer
Choice of Main Course: Adana Kebab, Chicken Kebab, Chicken Adana, Doner Kebab, Kofte Kebab
Vegetarian Courses: Okra, Mixed Vegetables, Falafel
Coffee, Tea and Desert 

A good time was had by all and some good suggestions were made for next year.  The biggest suggestion was enabling people to move around more.  We were in the back, in a separate room.  The food seemed fine as did the place, price and time,

Dan Callahan suggested Ali Baba and the service and organization of the meal were good.

11/07/2009